Avalon Custom Homes

Having spent the early part of his career in the fast-growing Aspen, Colo., and Hamptons, N.Y., markets, Craig Bass knew what it took to build a successful high-end custom home: detailed oversight. It’s an approach he’s brought to the Atlanta market through Avalon Custom Homes.

Avalon’s commitment to continuous on-site supervision is one of its primary differentiators from other builders in the Atlanta market. “Hands down, it’s our amount of on-site supervision and attention to all of the details,” Bass says.

“In other parts of the country, supervision is a given, there is money in those high-end home budgets to have on site supervision,” Bass says. “In Atlanta, cost of building is much cheaper, people expect homes to cost less, therefore the vast majority of builders have one project manager running three to four jobs. There is not the level of attention to detail because there is not the time dedicated to each project.”

Complete Customization

Bass and his business partner, Jim Paull, started Avalon in 2010 just as economy was starting to improve. The housing market was struggling, but their model of using skilled subcontractors for all of the construction work had a low startup cost and was less risky than having full-time employees.

It’s an approach the company still follows today, giving it more financial flexibility and the ability to scale up or down depending on workload. Avalon has over 100 subcontractors that work as carpenters and laborers. In addition to both partners being on jobsite, Avalon contracts two full-time project managers who keep a close eye on quality at every job site.

Avalon specializes in high-end custom homes inside Atlanta’s perimeter highway. Projects are typically valued at $1.5 million to $3 million, putting them in the upper echelon of the Atlanta market. When spending that much money, customers want something that is uniquely their own. No two projects are alike. “We’re working with multiple different architects all the time,” Bass says.

The company’s latest project, located in the Mount Paran neighborhood, is an example of the extent of Avalon’s customization talent. The home is a blend of rustic design with modern sensibilities, featuring refined beam work, steel window frames in the breakfast room, a back stairwell with smooth gray wood steps and metal handrails, and even a movie theater in the basement. “Every client is different, every job is different. Everybody is always trying to achieve their own look and build their dream home,” Bass notes.

However, while the homes may look different and have unique features, the underlying quality is the same. Every project shares the same attention to detail and building methods are often repeated to ensure consistency. The company builds four to six homes a year, mostly using the same set of subcontractors that are familiar with its standards and expectations.

Those requirements have increasingly included energy-efficient building practices and systems. Avalon is an EnergyStar Partner and EarthCraft builder, meaning it follows the green building certification program developed by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association in the late-1990s. Most of its homes are built using open and closed cell foam insulation instead of fiberglass and the company is experienced in building geothermal systems and installing LED light fixtures, which reduce energy consumption.

HVAC systems are one of the biggest energy culprits in any home, but it’s especially true in Georgia, where the summers are notoriously hot and sticky. To truly reduce a home’s carbon footprint, builders must address the heating and cooling system. On every project, Avalon includes a high-efficiency HVAC system capable of handling the hot Georgia summers without sacrificing comfort.

“One of the biggest challenges here is the humidity level,” Bass explains. “In the summer, it’s obnoxiously high. Having systems that can deal with that high humidity and keep that humidity out of the house is really important.”

Evaluating Subcontractors

Maintaining a physical presence on-site not only improves the quality of work but also the flow of information. Avalon is small enough that it does not need complicated communication software to keep tabs on everything going on. Instead, the company uses a combination of email chains and spreadsheets to track work and project documents, ensuring that everyone has the most up-to-date set of plans. “Having a good set of drawings that is concise is huge,” Bass says.

Because it contracts out all its labor, Avalon needs a strong stable of subcontractors to ensure it has the manpower to complete its upcoming projects. The company carries over many of the same subcontractors between jobs; however, the custom nature of its projects often requires the involvement of specialty trades. A home design may call for a large limestone slab along one side, which requires a different kind of skill than a normal mason. “We’re always on the hunt for the best people,” Bass notes.

The highly technical nature of those custom components is another reason why close supervision is so important for Avalon’s projects. Just as Avalon is careful about the subcontractors it works with, it is selective in the project managers and supervisors it hires to oversee the projects. “There are not a lot of key people that can do a job properly,” Bass says.

The intimate nature of Avalon’s organization gives Bass and Paull more direct involvement and influence on the completion of every project. It’s part of what sets Avalon apart from other builders in the Atlanta area and the two are unwilling to compromise that value.

As a result, Bass says there are no immediate plans to expand the company into other markets or take on more projects. “For the type of work we want to do, I think it gets really hard to get too big,” Bass says. “You lose too much control. We want to keep it where we’re at.”